(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to environmental monitoring systems and, more particularly, to a system for monitoring radiation exposure of personnel working in a nuclear power plant and overlaying a visual representation of the exposure data onto a video display of the location the personnel are working in.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Maintenance activities at nuclear power plants require accurate radiological controls to keep personnel radiation dose As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA). Specifically, information regarding the amount of radiation to which workers are exposed, i.e. radiation dosimetry information, must be measured and monitored by Radiation Protection (RP) personnel. RP personnel are also required to maintain continuous visual and audio contact with workers in high radiation areas. In the past, RP personnel working near the actual monitored tasks provided coverage for such radiological control activities. However, this often caused unavoidable exposure to the RP personnel in the work area and there has been a movement in the industry to remote monitoring of radiation exposure.
Conventionally, dosimetry information is displayed on one monitor while a real time video image of the work area being monitored is displayed on another monitor. Thus, to maintain visual contact with the workers and to monitor continuously the dosimetry information, multiple RP personnel are required. Moreover, a single RP worker cannot continuously monitor the radiation dosimetry information and maintain constant visual contact with the workers being monitored without looking back and forth between the separate displays for each area being monitored. As a result, RP personnel could overlook important dosimetry information while monitoring the real time video image or fail to notice significant changes in radiological conditions or operator errors while monitoring the dosimetry information.
Thus, there remains a need for a new and improved apparatus for integrating the display of radiation dosimetry information with the display of real time video images which permits viewing on a single video display the video images of the work areas being visually monitored and, at the same time, the radiation dosimetry information relating to specific personnel working in the monitored area.
The present invention is directed to an environmental monitoring system for a hazardous work area, such as a nuclear power plant, which monitors the radiation exposure of personnel working in the nuclear power plant and overlays a visual representation of the exposure data onto a video display of the location the personnel are working in.
The apparatus includes a video source, such as a plurality of PTZ cameras, for providing video image signals of the work area. In the preferred embodiment, individual radiation exposure sensors provide signals representative of the radiation received by each worker in the work area. A computer, outside of the work area, is connected to the sensors for converting the sensor signals to a visual video representation of the sensor measurements. A gen/lock overlay unit is connected to the computer for combining the video image signals and the visual video representation of the sensor measurements. Specifically, the visual video representations are overlaid onto the video images of the work area.
In the preferred embodiment, a remote relay unit first receives the video image signals and the sensor signals adjacent to the work area and relays the video image signals and the sensor signals to the computer and the gen/lock overlay unit outside the work area through a fiber optic cable. The remote relay unit includes electo-optical transmitters for receiving the video image signals and converting the video image signals to optical video image signals. Additional electro-optical transceivers receive the sensor signals and convert the sensor signals to optical sensor signals. A fiber optical cable is connected between the remote relay unit and the computer and gen/lock overlay unit for transmitting the optical video image signals and the optical sensor signals from the remote relay unit.
Also, in the preferred embodiment, a screen splitter is connected between the computer and the gen/lock overlay unit for separating the visual representation of the sensor measurements into a separate video signal from the computer user interface video signal. A video display is connected to the gen/lock overlay unit for displaying the visual video representation overlaid onto the video images of the work area
Accordingly, one aspect of the present invention is to provide an environmental monitoring system for a hazardous work area. The apparatus includes: (a) a video source for providing a video image signal of the work area; (b) a sensor for providing a signal representative of a measurement of at least one predetermined parameter in the work area; and (c) a gen/lock overlay unit connected to the video source and the sensor for converting the sensor signal to a visual video representation of the sensor measurement and for combining the video image signal and the visual video representation, wherein the visual video representation is overlaid onto the video image of the work area.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a video overlay unit for an environmental monitoring system for a hazardous work area having a video source for providing a video image signal of the work area and a sensor for providing a signal representative of a measurement of at least one predetermined parameter in the work area. The apparatus includes: (a) a computer connected to the sensor for converting the sensor signal to a visual video representation of the sensor measurement; and (b) a gen/lock overlay unit connected to the computer for combining the video image signal and the visual video representation of the sensor measurement, wherein the visual video representation is overlaid onto the video image of the work area.
Still another aspect of the present invention is to provide an environmental monitoring system for a hazardous work area. The apparatus includes: (a) a video source for providing a video image signal of the work area; (b) a sensor for providing a signal representative of a measurement of at least one predetermined parameter in the work area; (c) a computer connected to the sensor for converting the sensor signal to a visual video representation of the sensor measurement; (d) a gen/lock overlay unit connected to the computer for combining the video image signal and the visual video representation of the sensor measurement, wherein the visual video representation is overlaid onto the video image of the work area; and (e) a remote relay unit for receiving the video image signal and the sensor signal adjacent to the work area and relaying the video image signal and the sensor signal to the computer and the gen/lock overlay unit outside the work area.
These and other aspects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art after a reading of the following description of the preferred embodiment when considered with the drawings.